England Rural Development Programme

England Rural Development Programme is the instrument by which the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) fulfills its rural development obligations in England, as set out by the European Union. It is derived primarily from Council Regulation European Union Regulation No. 1257/1999 and the related successive implementing Commission Regulations (1750/1999 and subsequent amending regulations 445/2002, 817/2004).

The England Rural Development Programme 2000-2006 included the following schemes:

The England Rural Development Programme for 2000-2006 ended on 31 December 2006.

Council Regulation (EC) 1290/2005 of 21 June 2005 on the financing of the common agricultural policy provided for the creation of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) for the financing of rural development programmes. Council Regulation 1698/2005 set out four objectives for support for rural development:

(a) improving the competitiveness of agriculture and forestry by supporting restructuring, development and innovation;
(b) improving the environment and the countryside by supporting land management;
(c) improving the quality of life in rural areas and encouraging diversification of economic activity.

to be achieved by means of four axes:

Axis I: Improving the competitiveness of the agricultural and forestry sector
Axis II: Improving the environment and the countryside
Axis III: The quality of life in rural areas and diversification of the rural economy
Axis IV: Leader

Each axis contained a range of measures that may be adopted by Member States.

A consultation on the priorities for the next Programme for 2007-2013 ran from 27 February to 22 May 2006. However, finalisation of the Programme has been delayed due to the EU regulation that would give legal basis to European Council agreement on voluntary modulation, a method of funding which switches money from direct payments to farmers to Rural Development Programmes, having been blocked by the European Parliament.

On 19 March 2007, the European Agriculture Council voted unanimously in favour of a regulation on voluntary modulation tabled by the German Presidency. The European Parliament agreed, on the basis of this text and associated declarations, to lift its 20% reserve on EU rural development budgets for 2007. This enables Member States to proceed to finalising their rural development programmes.

Defra announced a further consultation on the draft England Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 in the context of the Programme’s likely overall impact on the environment. The closing date is 5 July 2007. According to this consultation document, the measures proposed for the England Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 are:

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